Capt. Rick Stanczyk's Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Had Ken out this morning again we fished early 4 to 8 AM.  The tide didn’t quite get started when I thought so we drifted a different area while waiting on the tide switch.  No bites there we then ran where I’d been getting them in the mornings lately but made several drifts there with no luck.  Now 6 AM and I went out to another channel where I had caught some several mornings ago.  We did get a couple bites on 2 consecutive drifts, though didn’t hook the fish unfortunately they slurped the crabs right off after pulling a little drag.  After that we tried different tactics for the last hour, saw a few fish rolling in this area but didn’t get a response and called it a day.  0 for 2

This evening I had Rick and Jane they had fished the last few days and had hooked a few tarpon but not officially landed one yet.  We got out and I was looking for fish laying on the bottom as the tide was just starting to fall and it was clear enough to see them.  I saw one and we set up near by.  About 10 minutes after putting the baits out he slammed our live mullet and we were on!  We chased him through the bridge and what a tough fish he was.  4 different times he tried to go through the 4 legged power line concrete structures and I had to float the rod through each time.  One time the rod almost came free but luckily it held on by 1 strap!  He put on quite a show jumping and then several twists and turns around the bridge.  After 45 minutes we landed him finally, it was a total team effort as Jane hooked him, Rick fought him, and I had to maneuver the boat.  Anyways even though my reel got soaked I didn’t mind it was worth it to land such a memorable fish, luckily it was an old reel anyways!   1 for 1

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Got out with Ken today for an all day trip back into the everglades.  We found plenty of tarpon this morning fresh in from the gulf.  Getting them to eat wasn’t easy however.  They were free jumping and busting all over as far as I could see.  We eventually got one to bite and Ken landed a nice 75 lb tarpon.  We caught plenty of sharks too including black tips and hammerheads.  We caught a little more bait later and tried further back off the mainland.  No sign of tarpon there but we caught a few cobias, and a big bull shark to end the day.  Great day and glad we got one.  I’m taking Ken early tomorrow to do the pre-sunrise thing for tarpon.  1 for 1

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

4/25/16 AM – Had Warren and his son Alex out for some early morning tarpon fishing.  We left at 4 AM I told them super early had been a better bet as of late.  That was the case we hooked up right away and Alex landed a nice tarpon close to 90 lbs or so.  After that we made another couple drifts and got another bite.  Alex let his dad catch this one not quite as big as the first but still a nice fish of 70 lbs or so.  After that we tried some channels on the other side of the bridge where we had caught them the day before.  Though we made a few drifts in each one and no tarpon love.  After that we tried some other methods as it got light.  Saw a few tarpon roll but didn’t get any more bites just caught a shark.  Anyways a good morning to land two fish!  2 for 2

4/25/16 Evening – Tonight I had return customer Peter and his buddy Bobby.  It was a tough night conditions looked pretty good with falling tide until sunset, though the tarpon were not very responsive.  We tried a bunch of areas and several different methods of attack though couldn’t get much going.  Had one cheap shot boil on a live mullet.  Finally the last stop we saw a fish roll and made some drifts with our crabs.  I stayed a little later for the guys since it had been a slow night and after sunset we finally got a bite but unfortunately he didn’t stay on the hook for us.  Was very surprised with good conditions the fish were not responsive I saw maybe 3 fish landed out of 40 or so boats we saw throughout the night.  0 for 1

Capt. Rick Stanczyk